woman is she who, in talking to a man, makes _him_ seem clever. This was
Mme. Recamier's great charm.


=A FEW MAXIMS FOR THOSE WHO TALK TOO MUCH--AND EASILY!=

The faults of commission are far more serious than those of omission;
regrets are seldom for what you left unsaid.

The chatterer reveals every corner of his shallow mind; one who keeps
silent can not have his depth plumbed.

Don't pretend to know more than you do. To say you have read a book and
then seemingly to understand nothing of what you have read, proves you a
half-wit. Only the very small mind hesitates to say "I don't know."

Above all, stop and _think_ what you are saying! This is really the first,
last and only rule. If you "stop" you can't chatter or expound or flounder
ceaselessly, and if you _think_, you will find a topic and a manner of
presenting your topic so that your neighbor will be interested rather than
long-suffering.

Remember also that the sympathetic (not apathetic) listener is the delight
of delights. The person who looks glad to see you, who is seemingly eager
for your news, or enthralled with your conversation; who looks at you with
a kindling of the face, and gives you spontaneous and undivided attention,
is the one to whom the palm for the art of conversation would undoubtedly
be awarded.